TAKE A BOW

DAVE MONK tries out a £1bn new cruise ship on a 'shakedown' voyage

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WELL, this is a tame ride, I thought, as I sat in a dinghy on a conveyor belt inching up a steep track, water trickling towards me.

Then everything stopped. I heard a shrill mechanical whirring from behind and suddenly a metal arm was propelling me like a human cannonball up the slope and into the entrance of a large plastic tube.

It all went downhill from there literally as I was carried for nearly 900ft on a wave round numerous bends, through a succession of bright lights and vivid colours, making it feel like the opening titles of Doctor Who.

Around 40 thrilling seconds later, I was deposited with a splash into a pool back near the start and clambered out, wet and laughing.

This was the Slidecoaster a cross between a water slide and roller-coaster on the new £1billion cruise ship Norwegian Aqua.

On a rainy day in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, I was among the first passengers to test this attraction, which will be even more fun in the heat of the Caribbean.

Aqua the 20th in the Norwegian Cruise Line fleet is the first in a new class called Prima Plus, 10% bigger than its forerunners Prima and Viva. Even with 3,571 passengers, there is ample space for everyone on the 20 decks.